Decisions made by the City of Ames affect Iowa State students everyday, but many students don’t know how the city government works or the bearing it has on the university.

Ames has an effective government that works closely with Iowa State, said Clare Bills, public relations officer for the City of Ames.

“We have elected people that represent us on the city council,” Bills said. “They come from four wards, each one has a representative and there are two at-large representatives. The six council members then oversee the actions of the city government.”

But the government is not in the traditional form, Bills said.

“Ames has a different kind of government. We have a mayor/council/city manager government,” she said. “We have a city manager, which is the chief administrator. The city manager is hired by the city council along with the city clerk and attorney.”

The city council meets on the second and fourth Tuesdays of every month.

“Along with determined business, at every city council meeting there is a public forum that usually takes place in the beginning. There, citizens can voice concerns to the council and the mayor,” Bills said. “If their concern is about something that will be discussed during the meeting, they are asked to wait.”

The council has a close relationship with the university and works very hard on many issues facing the city, Bills said.

“We worked with the university last year during Veishea,” Bills said. “The council passed a party ordinance which gave more police more power to regulate parties.”

She said the council has passed ordinances regarding bicycles, skate boarding, roller blading and fire, which also affected ISU.

Bills said if students have the time, they can and should get involved in city government.

“If you are 18 and over, you can be appointed to boards and commutations, but it is a major commitment,” she said. “Many students are too busy with school and work to have enough time to serve on a board.”

Deputy City Clerk Jill Ripperger said there are many students involved in city government.

“We cannot really tell how many students are on boards or commissions because a lot of times they do not fill out that they are students,” Ripperger said. “GSB does have members on three boards and commissions. They have two members on the Ames/ISU Bike Committee, four on the Analysis of Social Services Evaluation Team (ASSET), and a senator and a representative on the Transit Board.”

Bills said students are always in the loop in the decision-making process.

“I guess one of the things we do every year is we distribute a survey about the city, and we make sure that at least half of them are sent to students. We really want to know how they are doing and what their concerns are,” she said.

“If students really knew how much they could effect their surrounding community, they would be surprised,” Bills said. “Most of the time, students think they are powerless, but they really aren’t.”